Saab 9-3 electric to start production, coming in 2015

September 20, 2013

Since bankrupt Saab was acquired almost 15 months ago, the world has been left in limbo wondering if Saab 9-3 production would ever be restarted. Earlier this week, however, that National Electric Vehicle Sweden managed to do just that. Two Saab 9-3 gasoline versions just rolled off the assembly line in Trollhattan marking the restart of production.

Although these are gasoline versions, National Electric Vehicle Sweden will not be producing any gasoline versions for sale – these versions were to ensure the production line was operational, and have already been purchased by Chinese government agencies. Saab will build additional gasoline versions in the coming days that will also be sent to China.

The upcoming Saab 9-3 Electric versions of the vehicle will be marked for retail sale to currently unnamed countries.

Almost no info is available on the 9-3 Electric, except that the lithium-ion phosphorous cells are manufactured in Japan, and then made into battery packs in China.

The electric vehicle will make its first appearance sometime next year, and will officially launch in 2015 after debuting at the 2015 Frankfurt Motor Show.